Softening apparatus



C. M. BRADFORD.

SOFTENING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.4, 191a.

Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

Flgl Wvmww UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

oHARLEs ivr. BRADFORD, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGNo To UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A- CORPORATIQN OF nEw JERSEY.

' It is advantageous to the lasting of a shoe to'soften, as a preparatory step, those parts of the shoe that areto be pulled over and stretched during the lasting operation, such softening treatment being commonly practised on the toe portion of the shoe. This softening treatment is usually practised by steaming the toe portion, although sometimes, when the character of the shoe permits, by heating the latter without moistening it. Dry heat, however, is not advantageous so far as the leatherparts are'concerned and is usually restricted to shoes in which the toe boxes are made of felt or other fabric and impregnated with a substance that be comes soft in consequence of being heated without being moistened. Even in such shoes the upper leather may require mois ture to render it pliant enough for lasting.

Steaming devices are objectionable for several reasons. For example, a toe-steaming apparatus discharges into the atmosphere of the work-room an excessive volume of moisture which is objectionable because it breeds tuberculosis and causes rusting of the machinery. Furthermore, it is extremely diflicu'lt to' regulate the steam supply so as to moisten andsoften the shoe without burning it. This latter difiiculty has occasioned very extensive. experimentation without, however, resulting in' the most desirable degree of success. Some of the toe-softening devices that have been devised have combined steaming means and means for gencrating or radiating dry heat but none of them, so far as I am aware, has been capable ofproducing dry heat or vapor without using steam for one or both kinds of treatment. 7 I

SOFTENING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 30 1921 Application filed February 4, 1918. Serial No. 215,319,

In view of the objections incidental tothe use of steam, some of which objections have already been mentioned andsome of: which have not been mentioned, an object of the I present invention is to provide what may be termed a universal shoe-treating apparatus by which a shoe may be subjected, at will, to dry heat or to a current of vapor possessing desired degree of moisture and any desired degree of heat.

The apparatus shown by the accompanyng drawings as embodying one form of" the invention is capable, without the use of steam, of treating with or without moisture and with any desired degree of heat. The inclusion and exclusion of moisture is controllable independently of the degree of heat, and on the other hand, the treatment may, under some conditions, be varied as to the degree of heat, independently of the absence or presence of moisture. The various ,treatments of which the apparatus is capable are made possible by using air under pressure, as a heating agent, as a vehicle to absorb and carry moisture, or as both at the same time. The use of air and the capacity to alter one or more of its qualities as statedrenders the apparatus capable ofuniversal treatment'so that it may treat each shoe according to the requirements of the elements comprised in the shoe structure. .For example, a shoe'of whichthe upper is normally so soft and pliable as to require nosoftening treatment but which has a box toe of the so-called Beckwith type, would not require any moisture butwould require merely dry heat to soften the box toe preparatory to lasting.

Again, a shoe upper of bark-tanned leather would be rendered sufficiently pliant by heat and a relatively slight degree of moisture to maintain the pliant condition throughout'the period required for lasting. A shoe having chrome-tanned upper leather, however, would not be rendered sufficiently pliant by either of the two treatments'last mentioned but would require a relatively great degree of moisture. shown is" capable of fulfilling the requirements of the three kinds of work described, with all intermediate degrees of regulation, and without any substantial lossof-"time incidental to changing its mode of treatment. Moreover, the maximum quantity of moisture (not steam) discharged by the appara- The apparatus The production of vapor without steam is made possibleby interposing a closed water container in the conduit that supplies the compressed air. The air conduit is preferably provided with a by-pass and the water container is preferably included in such bypass, whereby the air may be heated without being moistened, may be moistened Without being heated, may be both moistened and heated, and whereby a part of the air may be segregated and moistened and thereafter combined with unmoistened air before reaching the treating device. The heating element may be regulated so asto give any desired degree of heat. The controls,all of which are manually operable, coiiperate to render the apparatus capable of altering the normal quality or condition of the airas much or as little as may be desired in respect both to its temperature and to its humidity, and the apparatus is, therefore, capable of changing quickly from any mode of treatment to any other mode of treatment that may be required by the characteristics of the shoe presented to it for treatment.

These and other features ofthe invention, comprising various combinations and arrangements of parts, will be understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in. the drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view, and Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the treating chamber.

A standard 10 carries a bracket 12, on which are mounted two chambers 14, 16. The chamber 14 contains means for generating dry heat, shown as an electric unit 18, controlled by a rheostat 20, whereby any desired temperature is obtainable in the chamber. The chamber is supplied with air under pressure by an air supply system, pipe 22 of which is connected to the chamber by a valve 24 and suitable piping 26. The air from the pipe 22, after it has been suitably heated in the chamber 14, passes out through the pipe 28 and valve 30 to the shoe treating apparatus which is supported on the top of the column 10.

This apparatus comprises a chamber into; which the pipe 28 leads, having an aperture 34 for the admission of a shoe. I desire that the aperture 34 fit tightly around the shoe, in order to avoid leakage waste of the heating agent. I prefer to attach to the edges of the opening 34 a curtain or membrane having a bottom 36, impervious to the treating agent, and an upper portion 38 which is porous for transmitting the heating agent. I contemplate making this curtain of substantially the shape of the shoe toe,

so that the toe will fit closely in it.- The impervious bottom 36 will prevent injury to the insole of the shoe by the treating agent. A drain pan 40 is provided to catch condensed moisture when the apparatus is used as a moistener as will be described.

Leading out of the pipe 28 below the valve 30 is a oipe 42, having a valve 43, and leading to t e chamber 16. This pipe enters the chamber and terminates in a sprayer or nozzle 44 at the bottom of the chamber. Another pipe 46 leads from the'top of the chamber to the pipe 28, opening into it above the valve 30. The chamber 16 is provided withfa filling device 48, which may, if desired, be of the barometric feed type, a

water gage 50, and a drain cook 52. The

chamber being filled with water to any desired level, the adjustment of the valves 30 and 43 will cause a current of hot air to circulate through the water and pass out through the pipe 46. The regulation of the quantity of water present in the chamber 16 will permit the regulation of the amount of moisture present in the air in the pipe 46. The deeper the water in the chamber,

and the hotter the ingoing air, the damper will be the outgoing air.

With the valve 43 closed the valves 24 and 30 and the rheostat 20 insure the provision of a definite constant current of dry air at a desired temperature and adjustable in quantity. The closing of the valve 30 and the opening of the valve 43 will secure a supply of moistened air containing any desired amount of moisture and having the same desirable characteristics of constancy and adjustability of flow and temperature.

The airsupplied through the valve 43 may be so hot and in such small quantity that the water in the chamber 16 is boiled violently by it, so that the product in the pipe 46 is substantially pure water-vapor or steam. Any desired condition of moisture from this down to a slight dampness is obtainable. The simultaneous use of the dry air through the valve 30 and the dampened air through the pipe 46 affords additional flexibility in adjustment.

The valves 30 and 43 determine the. total supply of air, the rheostat 20 determines its temperature, the relative openings of the valves 30-and 43 determine-the proportion of moisture-laden air used, and the amount of water in the chamber 16 determines the amount of moisture in the air.

In the use of the apparatus a pulled-over shoe 52 will be placed on the support 54 with its toe in the aperture 84. The curtain will prevent undue leakage of air into the room, and, inasmuch as the flow is constant, the supply can be so carefully adjusted that substantially all of the heat and moisture supplied will be transmitted to the shoe, avoiding waste and discomfort.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is i 1. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a humidifier having a pressure-sustaining chamber and having an inlet and an outlet, and means arranged to conduct air under pressure through said chamber and thence to a shoe positioned for treatment.

2. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a humidifier having a pressuresustaining chamber and having an inlet and an outlet, means for conducting air under pressure into said chamber, means for heating the air in said conducting means, and means arranged to conduct the air from said humidifier to a shoe positioned for treatment.

3. The combination with a source of air under pressure, of a pressure-sustaining conduit arranged to conduct air under pressure from said source. to a shoe positioned for treatment, and heating means inclosed in said conduit to heat the air inclosed in said conduit.

4. The combination with a source of air under pressure, of a pressure-sustaining conduit for conducting air under pressure from said source to a shoe positioned for treatment, heating means arranged to heat the air in said pressure-sustaining conduit, said conduit including a humidifier and a by-pass around the latter, said humidifier having a pressure-sustaining chamber in which the air is humidified as it passes therethrough.

5. The combination with a source of air under pressure, of a pressure-sustaining conduit for conducting air under pressure from said source to a shoe positioned for treatment, heating means arranged to heat the air in said pressure-sustaining conduit, said conduit including a himidifier and a bypass between the heating section and the work, and said humidifier having a pressure-sustaining chamber in which the heated air is humidified as it passes therethrough.

6. In an apparatus for treating shoes, means for supplying to a shoe air under pressure, means for segregating and mois-v tening a proportion of said air, means for heating the air not so moistened, and means for mingling the moistened air and the air from which it was segregated as aforesaid.

7. In an apparatus for treating shoes, means for heating air under pressure, means for moistening air under pressure, means for combining the heated air and the moistened air, and means for conducting the combined air to the work,

8. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating device, means for supplying thereto air under pressure, and manually controllable means for minging a variable quantity of moisture with such air independently of the velocity of the latter;

9. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating device, a conduit for supplying thereto air under pressure, means for mingling moisture with the pressure-sustaining air in said conduit, and means for regulating the proportion of moisture and the tem-' perature of the moistened air.

10. In an apparatus for treating shoes, means forming a pressure-sustaining chamber, heat-generating means inclosed in said chamber-forming means, means for supplying a substantially constant fiow of air under pressure to said chamber, and means for conveying the air from the chamberto a shoe.

11. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a receptacle formed to receive a portion of a shoe, a closed water container, means for introducing heated air under pressure into said chamber beneath the surface of the water,

and means for conveying the air from the upper part of said container to said receptacle.

12. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating device, means for conducting thereto a current of air under pressure, means for heating the air in said conducting means, a closed containerfor water, and means for causing a portion of the heated air to flow through the water and to flow thence to said treating device.

18. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a. treating device constructed and arranged to envelop a portion of a shoe to be treated, means for supplying thereto air under pres sure, and manually controllable means for humidifying the air in said supplying means to render the air effective for moistening the shoe. V

14:. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating device, a conduit connected thereto for conducting air under pressure thereto, means associated with said conduit for heating the air passing therethrough, and means associated with said conduit between said heating means and the receptacle for containing a body of liquid to be evaporated by the air in the conduit.

15. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating device, a conduit connected thereto for conducting air under pressure :thereto, and means associated with said conduit for containing a body of liquid to be evaporated by the air in the conduit.

16. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating device, a conduit connected thereto for conducting air under pressure thereto, and means associated with said conduit for adding moisture to the air in the conduit, said conduit having a bypass around the latter said means.

17. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating; device, a conduit connected thereto for conducting air under pressure thereto, a valve associated with said conduit, the latter having a by-pass around said valve, and means associated with said by-pass to add another fluid element to the air passing therethrough.

18. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating device, a conduit connected to said .ice for conducting air under pressure thereto, means associated with said conduit for heating the air passing therethrough, a valve associated with the conduit between said heating means and the treating device, a by-pass around said valve, and means as sociated with the by-pass for adding moisture to the air passing therethrough.

19. In an apparatus for treating shoes, a treating device, a conduit connected to said device for conducting air under pressure thereto, means associated with said conduit for heating the air passing therethrough, a vaporizer associated with the conduit be tween said heating; means and the treating device to moisten the air passing to the latter, and a lay-pass around said vaporizer to conduct heated air to the device otherwise than through the vaporizer.

20. In an apparatus for treating shoes. a treating device, a closed container for liquid, a conduit for air under pressure arranged to discharge the air into said container below the level of liquid therein'so that the air will pass through the liquid, and a conduit arranged to conduct the air that has passed through the liquid to said device under the pressure of the air inthe first said conduit.

21. In an apparatus of the class described,

means for generating a substantially constant flow of heated air, and means for moisteninn' a desired portion of the'air and mingling it with the unmoistened portion.

22. In an apparatus of the class described, means for generating a substantially constant flow of air, a shoe treating receptacle, means for transferring: the air to the receptacle comprising a plurally branched conduit and a moistening means in connection with ahranch-oi the conduit. 7

23. In an apparatus of the class described, means for generating a substantially constant current of air, a moistening means for the air and means for conveying the air through the moistening means or for shunting; it around the moistening means at the will of the operator. 7

24. In an apparatus of the class described, means for generating a substantially constant current of air, a moistening means for the air and means for conveying the air through the moistening means or for shunting it around the moi-stening means at the will of the operator, the latter two means being operable to produce the desired result without loss of time. i a

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHAR-LES M. BRADFORD. 

